Of Christmas Gifts and Mistletoe
by Jokerang
Summary: One shot holiday ficlet. Wanda and Steve find themselves under some mistletoe, courtesy of Clint Barton.


**My holiday story, a Wanda/Steve ficlet. It's not related to any of my other stories, but you could try to make it so if you squint.**

"I'm not exactly sure what it is."

Wanda Maximoff was looking at an odd shaped gift, wrapped in plain red wrapping paper to hide its identity. That was how it was supposed to be; they were playing white elephant.

Tony had been the one to suggest the team get back together and play as part of his regular Christmas party in Stark tower. Normally he was getting wasted and such, but if he wanted to avoid getting a long talk by both Natasha and Steve, he wasn't. Besides, Rhodey would be there.

Wanda, having never played this game before (let alongea lot of Christmas traditions), curiously unwrapped the mystery present and found a red and gold cylinder. Clearly this was one of Stark's creations that he submitted for the game.

"Ah, looks like the little witch found my beer dispenser!" Stark, as usual, was only happy to take great pride in one of his inventions. "So JARVIS made this a while back before he became… well, Vision."

The android gave off a weak smile. While he wasn't the artificial intelligence that once served Tony Stark, he was still a unique being with his own personality and life.

"Anyways," said Stark after the round of laughter, "you need to press this button first…"

Wanda's thoughts, however, were not on Tony Stark. She could read his mind in a few moments and master the little device in seconds. Her thoughts, thus, were on Steve Rogers, who happened to be watching the whole spectacle.

Steve, the super soldier that had been the first of the Avengers to give her and Pietro a second chance after they'd helped out Ultron. Steve, the surprisingly compassionate man who'd gotten her though the various stages of grief after Pietro's untimely death. Steve, the painfully adorable human teddy bear whose love life was the talk of every gossip rag.

If only they'd known better.

Though, to be fair, media access at Avengers facilities was heavily regulated. And then again…

"… Wanda, are you listening to me or not?"

Stark's voice finally came back into focus. He clearly didn't like her daydreaming on him.

"Sorry, Stark. Say again?"

Tony rolled his eyes, Pepper patted him on the back, and he proceeded to explain again. (She didn't need for him to, but Wanda got a little bit of joy watching him squirm.)

Ultimately, however, Steve ended up stealing the drink dispenser from her when it was his turn to go. "You can't enjoy it," she half-heartedly protested, referencing his inability to get drunk.

"We'll share it," he replied back, giving off a stupid grin.

In the end, Wanda ended up with Maria Hill's gift for the white elephant game: a self-help book by some person named Charles Duhigg. "Trust me, "Maria told Wanda, "It's a lot better than it seems. Got me though SHIELD training and specialty. I gave a copy to Frank, but he didn't seem too enthusiastic about it."

The thought of the Punisher eagerly browsing the self-help section of a bookstore was an amusing one indeed.

* * *

Later that evening, when Steve and Wanda were passing through the uppermost floor of Stark Tower, they found an arrow stuck in the wall above them. Attached to said arrow was a certain plant.

"Oh boy," said Clint Barton, emerging from the balcony above, "looks like someone's under the mistletoe! Pucker up!"

Wanda, figuring this to be yet another dumb Christmas activity, turned to Steve. "What's he talking about?"

Steve's brain raced. Their relationship thus far had been kept a relative secret (Natasha, as usual, found out everything). He cleared his throat before speaking. "It's mistletoe. It's been a tradition for couples to kiss under the mistletoe."

"So should we?"

Steve was sorely tempted to. Whatever Natasha had done to make Wanda stand out of a crowd clearly did its job right. Her dark hair fell down well below her shoulders and her makeup was expertly applied. Add to that a stylish red and white blouse and knee high boots and she was someone that most men would be tempted to court.

Including Captain America.

Except that she was already his. Well, the two of them knew that. And Natasha, who may or may not have had a hand in all this. She was always playing matchmaker wherever she went.

Steve didn't want everyone asking questions. He knew the kind of unwanted attention when tow high profile people were even rumored to be together.

 _Don't kiss her, Steve. Don't kiss her. Don't kiss her._

He kissed her.

Quite passionately, to be accurate. The fact that she responded in kind only enhanced the whole thing.

And as they openly showed their affection and love for each other, neither of them noticed the wolf whistles from Stark, nor Natasha's boasts of bringing them together, nor the soft, overplayed Christmas songs in the background.

It was just them, if for a moment.

When they broke the kiss, they were greeted by various cheers and applause. Tony slapped Steve on the back and offered him a bottle of his finest champagne. "For… well, you should know. If not, I'll teach you." Stark winked.

Steve knew exactly what Tony had in mind, but wished he didn't have to be so ostentatious about it. Afterwards, Wanda and Steve retired to one of the innumerable guest bedrooms in the tower, consumed the entire bottle, and made sweet, tender love to each other for an hour.

Next year, they'd work as partners as part of a much larger team. But that was next year. The holidays were for celebration, after all.

 **And that's that. I'll post the next chapter of Enemy of the Nation sometime after Christmas. Now, I'm off the see the new Star Wars movie. If I don't post anything in the next few days... Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**


End file.
